


The Woman of the Woods

by zeldadestry



Category: Fairy Tales and Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Yuletide 2008
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-23
Updated: 2008-12-23
Packaged: 2017-10-24 01:22:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/257294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeldadestry/pseuds/zeldadestry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Her eyes reflect the light of the moon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Woman of the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> written as an extra treat for WhiteCat for the 2008 yuletide exchange

Everyone knows that the quickest route, according to a map, from your home to the border town of Bonne is the road that runs due north. Everyone knows, yet few ever take it, and none dare do so by night. No doubt this illogic is rooted in archaic fears derived from wet nurse's tales intended to scare children so that they will not dare to play in the forest. You are not one to blindly follow tradition but neither are you keen to flout it and if there were another option you would use it. But you have business to conduct in Bonne tomorrow morning and no time to spare in getting there if you ever hope to win Katerina's hand in marriage. She is so beautiful, so small and dainty, so like an angel with her golden hair! She wins the heart of all who look upon her and, though you have fought valiantly over the last few years to gain her favor, you will certainly lose her unless there is a dramatic improvement to your fortunes. These are trying times for princes. Unless you can oversee the agreement to a new treaty your nation will be at war for many years to come and Katerina will marry a man who can offer her a more peaceable kingdom.

It is already after noon when you set off but, by your calculations, you will be able to reach Bonne by dawn. You have taken the hardiest horse from your stable and you ride alone, for you plan to go forward without mercy, onward and onward at breakneck pace, and you would not ask anyone else to suffer such on your account.

Past nightfall you stop at the Last Call tavern and inn. The place is aptly named for ahead of you is the entrance to the forest. Once you ride inside you will meet no one, you hope, meet neither friend nor foe. You stop only to warm yourself by the fire for a moment, take a few sips of liquor, and allow your horse his first chance to rest yet this day. "Hello, stranger," says the woman who brings you your drink. "Aren't you a handsome one? What brings you our way?"

"I have urgent business in Bonne." You are curt with her, as you have no time to tarry and are not here to make friends.

"Bonne! You can not intend to go on tonight, then."

"And why ever not?"

"No one goes through the forest at night, even an idiot knows that." You attempt to wave her away but she ignores you, calls out to her husband. "Darling, make him see reason."

You finish your drink and throw your coins down on the table. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Think you're no ordinary man? Go on, then. You'll see! You'll be sorry!"

"I'm not afraid of wolves," you say, and pull out your pistol.

"They've brought down better men than you." She sneers before she turns her back on you. Indeed, no man nor woman will meet your eye as you leave the place. They seem to consider you a corpse already.

It is true that the wind begins to howl ominously as you near the forest and that your horse, always so obedient until this very moment, begins to pull at the bit. It is true that you begin to shiver but it is only because of the cold, nothing more. You picture taking Katerina into your arms, you imagine finally, finally, crushing your lips down upon her pink pout, and you press your thighs against your horse, you urge him onward. Onward!

You have not been long on the path, perhaps an hour or so, when you come to a fork in the road and pull up short. Damn! How could this have been missing from the map? Fortunately, one path is wider and clearly more frequently used and that is the direction in which you turn. Still, as you continue forward, the possibility, however slight, that you have made an error gnaws at you.

Because the path is wide, when you look up above you the moon and stars are visible. The sight of them comforts you, but as the night continues on clouds roll in and obscure your celestial companions. Your horse's ears are ever alert, swiveling, he turns his head in the direction of each sound he hears. Soon you notice him trying to bolt and you shorten the reins, tightening your grip on them. That is only the wind you hear, it can only be the wind, you assure yourself, though you notice strange lights flashing between the trees on either side of you.

It happens all so quickly. There is a woman's scream, your horse rears and you hold on, a wolf runs up beside you and the horse rears again, throwing you from your seat. The horse tears away down the path and you watch him go, fearing for his safety, yet also hoping that the wolves may follow him if it means they will leave you alone. No luck, no such luck! They are coming from all directions now, stepping out of the woods, larger than any you have ever seen, their fur bristling as they growl, showing you their teeth. They seem to have nothing in their mouths but canines, nothing but fangs, row upon row of them. You bring out your pistol, the metal is cold in your hands. What chance do you have when there are so many? You try to fix your mind on Katerina. This was all for her and perhaps your death will not hurt as much if you can keep her memory with you, if she can be your very own saint, a saint you gladly will give your life for in martyrdom. You begin to shout, as loud as you can. "Help me! Help me! Can anyone hear me?" You fire your pistol into the air and, miraculously, the pack shies away. They do not run, but they move to the sides of the road. They seem to hold a conference and you wonder if these are rational creatures, not beasts, and if they are discussing what damage you might be able to cause. "Help me!" you shout again. "Help me, please!" Can such animals laugh? For they are looking at you, their mouths drawn back as though they smile, they look at you, their tongues lolling. They drool, it catches in the fur round their mouths, several fight with each other, as though they must work out who has the greater authority and therefore receives the largest hunk of your flesh. You begin to pray. It has been years since your last confession, but you can think of nothing else to do. You already know your plan. When they attack again you will shoot as many as you can before they take you down. They will end you and you will take as many of them with you as possible. You can not run, the fall from the horse has broken your leg. There is nothing left but to kill as many as you can out of spite and to pray for the deliverance of your soul. To think you began this day hoping for Katerina! She is nothing to you in this moment, she never has been. You have never spoken with her alone, her horrible sisters have always served as chaperones. You have danced with her but once, and she would not even meet your eyes! You will not pray for her, only for yourself. Your country does not need you, your father is a wise ruler and your younger brother is the most just of men. He is a worthy successor. Indeed, he ought to have been the ambassador on this trip. It was only your arrogance and your insane worship of Katerina that led you to undertake it. Perhaps you deserve to die. "Lord," you pray, "I don't care anymore. I'd like to live, yes, but it is in your hands."

"Perhaps it is in my hands," says a voice above you, the most beautiful voice you have ever heard. You look up into the trees and see a naked woman perched on a branch. Her eyes reflect the light of the moon. When she smiles you see her fangs.

"Who are you?"

"In this moment, I dare say I am your dearest friend." She speaks slowly, almost singing or sighing her words, drawing them out as though each one tastes so delicious in her mouth that she must savor it for as long as possible. She leaps down and lands gracefully in a crouch. "It is I who have saved your life this night. Since you entered the woods, I have been aware of your movements. The wolves would have attacked you immediately otherwise." The wolves bow to her, they bring their bellies to the ground, they rest their heads on their paws and look up at her adoringly. "They held off as long as they could but they're only animals, after all, and eventually you became too intolerably tempting. Don't worry. They know now that you are under my protection and will not harm you."

"And my horse?"

"It has already reached the end of the woods. You have come quite far already." She brings her hands to your leg. "I can fix this, if you will come with me. Will you come with me?"

You have never wanted to be completely in someone's care before, but now all you want is to surrender to her. "Of course."

"Promise me you will not be frightened."

"I promise."

"Very well. Close your eyes. The transformation is - unnerving for the uninitiated."

You would never dare think of disobeying. You close your eyes and you keep them closed even as you hear her scream. It was she you heard earlier, she must have been warning the wolves not to hurt you. Her tongue licks the side of your face, but of course you are not surprised. You understand her, what she is, you only want to be closer to her, you rub your face against hers, you clutch her close as you can, no other creature on the earth has such soft fur. She picks you up in her jaws, she brings you down to a river where you can wash the tears from your face and sip the coldest, sweetest water you have ever tasted. She tears off your clothes with her teeth, but does not nick your skin. She nudges you into the water, submerges you completely, her paw pressing down on the crown of your head. It should feel like drowning but when she lets you go you breathe normally, no gasping for air. The pain in your leg has vanished. You gather your clothes but do not put them back on. You are no longer cold. You ride on her back to her den. Inside it is warm and dark. You can see nothing, you want for nothing. She feeds you fresh meat, so juicy and filled with blood that you do not want for drink. She guides you to lie down in her bed. Warm, soft pelts surround you. She is beside you, in her human body again. You lie flat on your back and she moves above you.

"What were you?" you plead to know. "What shape did you wear when you were brought into this world?" You roll her over so she writhes beneath you.

"I remember no longer. I was a woman who wished to be a panther or I was a panther who wished to be a woman. Either way, I was given my wish and have known naught but pleasure since." She bucks her hips.

When dawn begins to break she mews. "Now I must leave you."

"Why?"

"Else I should lose my magic."

"Then lose it! Come with me. I will take care of you, give you anything you could want, everything. I am a rich and powerful man."

"I have everything I want," she says. "And if I went with you, if I left this forest, then I would revert to my original form, I would become mortal again. I do not want that. You do not want that. I told you, I have been so long like this that I no longer remember how I was born. What should you do if we leave the woods and I become a cat for the rest of my life?"

"I don't care," you swear to her. "I must have you."

She bristles, even hisses. "I belong to no one."

"Then let me belong to you. Let me come back to you, please, I beg you."

"I save each man but once," she tells you. "If you ever return here you risk great danger, even your life."

"It would be worth it to hold you again."

"Listen to me. There is no reward a second time, no rescue. I love you completely, thoroughly, but only once."

This seems such a bitter ending that you can not help your anger. "Damn you, then! You might as well have let the wolves eat me!"

She nuzzles her face against your own. "You have good fortune, now," she purrs. "Go on, dear man, go on. You will see. Close your eyes, now, close your eyes and keep them closed until the sun is fully risen."

She leaves you alone in the road where she found you. She sets you down and is gone before you can even turn round. You set off in the direction of Bonne and, as she said, find your horse as soon as you step out of the woods. The meeting in Bonne goes exceptionally well, you are declared a worthy ambassador and an emissary of peace.

As soon as you return home you find Katerina's father and mother waiting for you. Both passionately declare that their daughter is wasting away with love for you and that the two of you must be married posthaste.

Is this what the woman calls good fortune? Just two days ago it should have been bliss, but now you call it torture. Katerina is nothing to you. How could any woman compare to the woman of the woods?

You suffer now from a most egregious insomnia. You are tormented by want of her and also by jealousy, envying each man who has been foolhardy enough to lose his way since you did. What would you not give to be in her arms again! What would you not give to look into those eyes that are always a cat's!  



End file.
